A Crack in Time
by mangagirl3535
Summary: When the girl fell from the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, it was not the most bizarre thing that had happened within Hogwarts. It was, however, the most profound. When she fell from those magic clouds, nothing was the same; epecially for Tom.
1. Chapter 1

**A Crack in Time**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

SUMMARY: When the girl fell from the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, it was not the most bizarre thing that had happened within Hogwarts. It was, however, the most profound. When she fell from those magic clouds the entire castle shook, and nothing was ever the same, especially for Tom Marvolo Riddle.

___

Chapter 1: The Fall

"_Every beginning is a consequence—every beginning ends some thing." –Paul Valery_

No one but the first years looked upon the enchanted ceiling anymore. The faculty ignored it and the students took it for granted. Its mysterious qualities had long been forgotten along with the Founder's memories. So on that fateful morning, no one saw the turbulent crowds rising and churning. No one glanced upon the vortex forming in the center, like an eye of a hurricane.

Save for one.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, Head Boy to Hogwarts, watched the ceiling as it flashed with dull lightening and rumbled with soundless thunder. He had seen this occur before, at the orphanage before a tornado had touched based with earth. But it was not only the ceiling's strange behavior that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. Something else was electrifying the air, something…formidable, as if the entire castle was waiting with baited breath. It did little to his aid his already light appetite.

Having given up on eating breakfast, Tom gathered his books and left for the library. He intended to research the enchanted ceiling. Then the shaking started. At first, it was light, and only shook the plates and goblets on the long dining tables. The Head Boy paused and stared at the shuddering dishes. He barely had time to catch himself as the trembling grew in magnitude. The walls shook violently and several students began screaming.

It stopped as soon as it started and Tom's fellow peers looked around and turned towards the faculty table expectantly. However the professors appeared to be just as baffled.

The students were dismissed for class immediately and Tom sighed, knowing that for the rest of the day, he would be pestered by conspiracies and theories over the mysterious earthquake. He had better things than to listen to a bunch of ignoramuses' gossip about the most recent drama, when he could be in the Library, possible solving _two_ mysterious occurrences that happened to be coinciding simultaneously.

Tom never believed in coincidences. He _knew_ that the ceiling's strange behavior was linked to the earthquake. He could feel it within his bones. And he also could feel that this was just the beginning.

And he was right. The castle experienced random and intermittent tremors that left both the students and the professors ducking for cover and extremely perplexed. The resulting anxiety and tension among the student body caused him to have very little spare time outside of his classes. Three physical fights broke out, two duels were challenged, and other various rules were broken.

He was in such a foul mood by dinner that even his usual posse of admiring fan girls and slick, yet completely insecure, wannabes left him alone in fear of being hexed violently. Tom stabbed at the mashed potatoes before him and let an audible growl rumble from his throat, causing a second year that happened to be passing behind him to flinch.

Tom nearly groaned when he heard a shriek echo in the fall, expecting another earthquake false alarm. However, the shrieking didn't stop, instead it evolved into a milk curdling scream. Looking around, Tom couldn't find the source to the screaming. Which meant…

The hair was prickling on the back of his neck again, and with a sense of dread, he looked up.

From the dark vortex within the tempest that covered the ceiling, plummeted a figure of a woman. She fell faster than he could yell or even pull his wand out. And when she crash landed onto the Gryffindor table, the solid oak table groaned and split into two. The food was sent flying along with all the platter ware and the Gryffindor students fell back in reflex and shock. The entire Great Hall was in uproar as students crowded and the professor pushed through to investigate the scene.

Tom was the first there, and he climbed over the splintered table and carefully navigated around the splattered food and broken dishes. When he came upon the center of the broken heap, he found himself speechless. The woman—or rather the girl, for she couldn't have been older than sixteen—was completely in tact, apart from some minor cuts and bruises, she simply appeared to be asleep. Her breathing was light but he could definitely see her chest rising slightly before dipping back down. After securing her relative (more like miraculous) condition, he inspected her features.

She had curled brown hair that was frizzed out, probably from her fall. She was pale, but not deathly so. Her nose was straight, and her lips were neither too thin, nor to plump. She was thinly built and looked as though she hadn't had a proper meal in a few days. If she hadn't just fallen from the ceiling, she would have been pretty, in an unusual sort of way. Not strikingly so, and definitely not at first glance. She was the typical unnoticeable girl, Tom thought as he knelt to look closer, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Her clothing was odd, he had never seen a girl wearing pants made out of…he didn't recognize the fabric, but it was blue and it stretched around her thighs indecently. Her blouse was unbuttoned and well fitted, but not custom tailored. Her shoes were foreign as well.

Everything about her appearance was strange. But before he could further inspect his new curiosity, he heard his name being called. He turned to find the bane of his existence since his first year at school. Professor Dumbledore towered over his knelt form. Tom quickly rectified this and stood up, and stared into the eyes of his most hated professor. "Please assist the prefects in returning the students to their respective Houses. The rest of the Faculty and I will handle this."

Tom reluctantly nodded, knowing that there was little he could do when the Transfiguration professor used _that_ tone of voice.

It still rankled within though when he left the Great Hall to assume his appointed role of shepherd for the gullible students.

He thought of the girl as he did this and he scowled. _Jut you wait, I will know who your are and where you came from_.

__

Thus, the chapter ends here. Please review; It speeds the process of writing the next chapter tenfold.

~mangagirl3535


	2. Chapter 2

**A Crack in Time**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

SUMMARY: When the girl fell from the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, it was not the most bizarre thing that had happened within Hogwarts. It was, however, the most profound. When she fell from those magic clouds the entire castle shook, and nothing was ever the same, especially for Tom Marvolo Riddle.

___

Chapter 2: The Butterfly Effect

"_As if you could kill time without inuring eternity." –Henry David Thoreau_

Hermione Granger burst into tears when she woke to the peering form of Albus Dumbledore standing over her hospital cot. He was much younger than she had remembered, but that was to be expected. As she struggled to breathe between the heavy sobs only one thought ran through her mind, over and over, like a broken record. _What have I done? What have I done?_

As the nurse, Madam Pomfrey (Hermione couldn't believe her eyes), came to her side to calm her with soothing words and discreetly slip her a calming draught. As the potion took its effect, Hermione began to clear her mind. She assessed her situation.

She felt sore physically and hollow emotionally. She stared at the extremely young Poppy Pomfrey—she looked to be about twenty years old. She knew that the Headmaster was waiting for her patiently. _Wait. He's still professor._ She corrected herself mentally. His beard was not as silvery, and still held a few strands of red. It wasn't as long as she remembered. But his eyes were still that same twinkling blue. And it caused both her heart to flutter and constrict with joy and grief.

Albus Dumbledore would die a horrific death and poor Harry would watch it helplessly.

But now…Hermione felt the tears prick her eyes again. Now, everything would change and the future was uncertain unless she found a way home again. Her very presence would be the catalyst of the altering a presumably set destiny.

"Tell me child, what is your name?" Hermione nearly choked at the sound of his voice. It was real. This was not a dream; and she was so disappointed it wasn't a dream, because the reality of her situation was the worst sort of nightmare she could possibly think of.

"Hermione." She muttered through her streaming tears.

"Where are you from, Hermione?"

Closing her eyes, and questioned her options. Should she lie? Should she tell the truth? Both had its pros and cons. She glanced at Madam Pomfrey. Hermione knew that if she had to tell someone, Dumbledore would be her best chance at returning home. But it had to be in solitude, where no one else would learn about her origins.

"Poppy will you leave, please."

"Of course, Professor," the nurse nodded and exited to the office. Hermione observed that she had never been so passive in her time. She must have been newly hired. Dumbledore only smiled and looked at her expectantly.

Swallowing, she began her tale.

___

Tom waited until the Transfiguration Professor left (finally, after nearly four hours) before he entered the hospital ward. The girl seemed to be dozing off as he approached her cot. He was being as silent as he could, but the girl had her wand out (from where, he could not tell) and pointed at him in an instant. He froze, as did she. A growing look of horror was slowly creepy over her face.

The wand was lowered, but still directed at him he noticed, "Sorry, reflex."

"Rather paranoid reflex I believe," he commented in return smoothly.

The girl's face flushed, "Why are you here?"

_Strange_, Tome thought,_ that she would ask the why before the who._ He voiced his thoughts, and smirked as her blush deepened. "And wouldn't it be more appropriate for me to ask _you_ that question? After all, you did fall from the enchanted ceiling."

She coughed slightly and looked away, "Yes, well…I'm not exactly sure what happened but it must be because of a faulty portkey. I was meant to arrive in Professor Dumbledore's office."

Tom pondered this answer and found that though it was vague, he could sense any lie behind it. He nodded and he forced an easy smile onto his face, "Well, anyhow, I'm Tom Riddle, the Head Boy."

He held his hand out. She visibly stiffened, which Tom thought odd, considering most girls melted at the chance to brush arms with him in the hallway. Tom shifted slightly, but held his hand out for the awkward minutes that the girl simply stared at him. Then she hesitantly took his hand, "Hermione, transfer student."

"Hermione…" He prodded for the last name, but as she was about to open her mouth, they were rudely interrupted.

"What do you think you are doing? It's past curfew, young man!" Madam Poppy Pomfrey came out of her office, and Tom bit his tongue to prevent himself from cursing her.

"I'm Head Boy. I was doing my rounds." He lied easily.

"Well," the nurse huffed, "Miss Hermione needs her rest. Leave, now."

Tom pretended not to notice the expression of relief on Hermione's face as he left the hospital ward.

__

Reviews make the writing process faster. It's scientifically proven!

~Mangagirl3535


End file.
